How many wins will Michigan State have in 2013?

Michigan State enters the 2013 season coming off a disappointing 7-6 record in 2012.

The Spartans had a defense capable of a much better record, but the offense struggled with consistency all season.

This year, the Spartans seem to have the same question marks they did throughout last season. While the defense looks as if it should be pretty strong again, the offense looks like it could be a continual work in progress.

Can running backs like Riley Bullough, Nick Hill, Jeremy Langford and others combine to produce what Le’Veon Bell did last season?

Can Andrew Maxwell take a step forward as a quarterback, or will Mark Dantonio be forced to hand the ball over to Connor Cook?

Will the receivers improve their pass-catching ability?

The only area the MSU offense seems to be secure in is on the offensive line, but injuries could change that quickly.

When you look at the schedule for Michigan State, there isn’t a lot of challenging home games this season. The year starts with games against Western Michigan, South Florida and Youngstown State all at home. A 3-0 start has to happen.

In conference play, MSU gets to host Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota. Those three home games should be enough to get the Spartans bowl eligible.

MSU also hosts Michigan, which I think is a toss-up right now with the game at home. It will likely be another physical battle like the 2012 game in Ann Arbor.

When it comes to road games, the schedule isn’t too easy for MSU. The Spartans head to Notre Dame, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Northwestern.

MSU’s season will come down to how it plays on the road. While Illinois should be a win, the remaining road games will all be very challenging.

Right now, the “winnable” games give the Spartans 7 wins. However, MSU showed it can lose the “winnable” games last year. Regardless of what it does at home, Michigan State will need to grind out some big road wins if it hopes to contend for a championship or New Year’s Day bowl game.
What are your expectations for Michigan State in 2013?

How many wins will MSU have in the regular season?

Michigan's final five may keep it from a Big Ten title in 2013

The college football season is just around the corner and the anticipation for the 2013 season is great for both Michigan and Michigan State.

The Wolverines have high hopes to make a run at the Big Ten title and the Spartans are hopeful to get back in the mix after a disappointing 2012.

Putting MSU aside for today, one thing that really looks like it could stand in the way of Michigan’s chances to win the Big Ten this season is its schedule, mainly its final five games.

The Wolverines will play five consecutive weeks of challenging games to end the season, then have to play the following week in the Big Ten Championship, if it hopes to win a conference crown this year.

Here is what the final five games look like for Michigan:

Nov. 2 at Michigan State

Nov. 9 vs. Nebraska

Nov. 16 at Northwestern

Nov. 23 at Iowa

Nov. 30 vs. Ohio State

Let’s start with the first game against MSU in East Lansing. The Wolverines have lost their last two meetings with the Spartans on the road and Michigan hasn’t won by more than a touchdown at Spartan Stadium since 1997. Win or lose, this game will be a physical battle and the Spartans will be treating it like their biggest game of the year. It will be a very tough start to a tough stretch.

Then Michigan heads home to face Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are arguably right there with Michigan in regards to winning the Legends Division in 2013. This will be the toughest game Nebraska has on its schedule. The home team has dominated both meetings, but the Cornhuskers come in with a veteran offense and one of the top playmakers in the Big Ten, quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Next up is Northwestern. The Wildcats will be coming off a bye week and eager to get a shot at Michigan after last season’s 38-31 loss in overtime at The Big House. Northwestern hasn’t exactly been a problem for Michigan in the past, but the Wildcats look to have a promising team this season. Beating the Wildcats at home could be a problem.

Following that tough road game, Michigan then heads to Iowa the following week. The Hawkeyes have won three of their last four against the Wolverines, and winning in Iowa City hasn’t been an easy task for the Wolverines as of late. Iowa may be the worst team on paper in the group, but beating the Hawkeyes in Kinnick Stadium is no small feat. Prior to last season, Iowa was 23-5 at home from 2008-2011.

The schedule closes with the big rivalry game against Ohio State at home. Certainly anything can happen in this game and Michigan will definitely be ready, but there isn’t much arguing that Ohio State comes into the season as the Big Ten favorite. Braxton Miller looks to be the Big Ten’s top player and quarterback this season and Urban Meyer has the most success of any coach in the conference. It will take everything Michigan has to win this game, and even if it does, can it possibly have anything left to win another game the following week, especially if the Wolverines face the Buckeyes again?

I think when you look at each game on paper, you can argue that Michigan can win each game. But winning all five in consecutive weeks seems like too great of a challenge.

How do you think Michigan will do in its final five games of the season?

What will Michigan's record be over its final five games?

Super Bowl XLVII Prediction

Well, it is Super Bowl Sunday.

It’s as close to a national holiday without actually being one.

I will be at work during today’s game, but I will be watching like the rest of you.

I know this game has nothing to do with college athletics, Michigan or Michigan State, but I felt like throwing out a prediction on today’s game for the blog.

The 49ers come in as the clear favorite, as they have a point spread of -4 against the Ravens, but I genuinely feel like the Ravens are the better team.

Baltimore has had two impressive wins on the road to get to the Super Bowl. Not many would have expected a team to go into Denver and New England and win, but the Ravens did just that.

San Francisco has had a little bit of an easier road, playing Green Bay at home and Atlanta on the road, but the 49ers still have plenty of talent to win this game.

I look at the Ravens similar to the Giants of last season. Baltimore looked pretty rough at times during the regular season, but still did enough to win a division title. Like the Giants, Baltimore went on the road and beat the two top teams in their conference in the playoffs, and just seem to be clicking right now.

Certainly the Ray Lewis retirement was an added motivation for Baltimore, but that shouldn’t play a role in this game, as everyone has the added motivation of being in the actual Super Bowl.

I think the key to this game is that Baltimore should be able to attack the San Francisco secondary. The 49ers gave up nearly 400 passing yards to the Falcons, and I think Joe Flacco will find Torrey Smith for a few big passes during the game to setup scores. The Baltimore defense will defend Colin Kapernick and the read option well enough to keep the Ravens in the lead. I think as the game moves on, Kaepernick will be forced to throw, and won’t be able to do so consistently enough to win. This game will be close and competitive, but I just feel the Ravens are going to win this one and Flacco wins the MVP.

Prediction: Ravens 27, 49ers 20

Who deserves the most blame for MSU's 2012 football season?

Even with a victory in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, this has been a disappointing football season for Michigan State.

Not many could have seen a 7-6 season coming into training camp.

The Spartans had one of the top defenses in the country on paper and were coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons. Despite some concerns about the offense, few would have expected what Michigan State turned out to be in 2012.

Perhaps as disappointing as the record is that the Spartans weren’t far off from having another strong season.

MSU’s five losses in Big Ten play came by a combined 13 points and the Spartans had ample opportunities to win each of those games. Michigan State went from a team that could snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat in 2010 and 2011, to a team that snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory in 2012.

It’s hard to put much blame on the defense. Despite allowing some big plays at inopportune times, the MSU defense still played well enough to have a successful season. When you rank ninth in the country in scoring, you would expect to be at least an 8-win team.

The real issue this season was the offense, which ranked 110^th nationally in scoring at 20 points per game. The offense couldn’t consistently put up enough points for a number of reasons, but all of them added up to cost the Spartans five of their six losses.

To me, there are five areas of blame for this season, and all directly relate to the offense.

First is head coach Mark Dantonio. He has to take responsibility for the 7-6 record as he is the head coach. There were plenty of embarrassing moments during the season that were a direct reflection of the coaching staff.

Second is offensive coordinator Dan Roushar. He seems to be the top culprit in the eyes of many MSU fans. The Spartan offense is his responsibility and they were awful. The offense was even awful in the bowl game after four weeks of uninterrupted preparation.

Third would be quarterback Andrew Maxwell. Perhaps an offense, or an offensive coordinator, is only as good as his quarterback. Maxwell was not nearly as good as coaches and fans hoped he would be, throwing for 2,606 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing just 52.5 percent of his passes. He consistently threw short of the sticks on third downs and showed little mobility when forced out of the pocket.

Fourth is the offensive line. Injuries played a role in their struggles, but they allowed Maxwell to be sacked 21 times and pressured countless other times. Despite having a solid back in Le’Veon Bell, the line failed to provide consistent running lanes for him, which stalled out a lot of drives.

Fifth is the receivers. Though the young and inexperienced receivers improved throughout the season, drops were an issue early on in the year and they cost the Spartans a few games. Was it bad hands, or bad throws?

What are your thoughts? Who should be held most responsible for MSU’s 7-6 season in 2012?

Who's most to blame for MSU's 7-6 season?